Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 14th March 2023

Correct Answer:  B. Nagpur

Explanation:  A new initiative called ‘beggar-free city’ has been started in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Commissioner of Police of Nagpur City, Amitesh Kumar informed that notification of 144 CrPC has been issued in this regard. Notices have been served to people. The Nagpur police will strictly enforce this and begging will not be allowed in public places. This is the joint venture of Nagpur City police and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) social welfare department.

Correct Answer:  C. New Delhi

Explanation:  The second edition of ‘World Food India, WFI-2023’ will be organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, from 3rd to 5th November this year at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The Curtain Raiser Event to WFI-2023 was held in New Delhi today. During the event, Minister of Food Processing Industries, Pashupati Kumar Paras launched the website, publicity brochure and promotional video for WFI-2023.

Addressing the Curtain Raiser event, Mr. Paras emphasised that India is one of the fastest-growing economies with many investment opportunities, especially in the food processing sector. He outlined five pivotal elements of the WFI-2023 as Millets- ‘Shree Anna-The Super Food of India’, Innovation and Sustainability ‘Green Food’, White Revolution 2.0, making India an export hub and focus on technology and digitisation.

Correct Answer:  D. Silicon Valley Bank

Explanation:  Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest bank in US, has been shut down by regulators due to the sudden shutdown of Silvergate Capital Corp and the unmindful fundraising of SVB. It is the second biggest bank failure in U.S history after the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008. Due to the shutdown of SVB, there has been a loss of more than $ 100 billion in the market value of the shares of American banks. The main office and all branches of Silicon Valley Bank will reopen on March 13. Financial regulators have taken control of its deposits. According to the FDIC, 89% of the bank’s $175 billion in deposits were uninsured by the end of 2022.

• FDIC has created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara.
• The FDIC’s standard insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor.
• SVB is a key player in the tech and venture capital community. Around half of the U.S. technology and healthcare companies were Silicon Valley Bank customers.
• In the last 18 months, Technology sector stocks have declined sharply. It added troubles for Silicon Valley Bank.
• It suffered a major loss due to the increase in interest rates by the US central bank.
• Silicon Valley Bank is based in Santa Clara, California. Its total asset was $209 billion.

Correct Answer:  C. Guwahati

Explanation:  The first Supreme Audit Institution 20 (SAI20) Senior Officers Meeting started in Guwahati on 13 March 2023. The meeting is part of the G20 summit. It started with the themes -‘Blue Economy’ and ‘Responsible Artificial Intelligence’. SAI20 is aimed at bringing together an ecosystem in which SAI are active partners in governance. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu will chair the meeting. The meeting will conclude on 15th March.

44 delegates from G20 member countries, guest countries and other International Organizations reached Guwahati to attend the meeting. SAIs of Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Oman, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and UAE are taking part in-person. During the meeting, SAI India will introduce the concept themes on Blue Economy and Responsible AI respectively. Participant SAIs will share their experiences. SAI20 Engagement Group of G20 was set up in 2022 during Indonesia’s Presidency of the G20. It was established to enhance economic governance through collaborative oversight.

Correct Answer:  C. Japan

Explanation: Japan has become the latest country to join the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), an alternative dispute resolution mechanism to the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the MPIA website, Japan is the 26th member to join the alternative arrangement, which includes the European Union, Canada, and Brazil. The Japanese government decided to join the MPIA as an interim measure until the dispute settlement function of the WTO is restored.

The top appeals bench of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which rules on trade disputes, has been inactive for more than two years due to appointments held up during former President Donald Trump’s administration. The United States, which rejects repeated calls to approve appointments, is instead leading private discussions on how to restart the dispute system.

Correct Answer:  C. 16.78 per cent

Explanation:  India’s Net Direct Tax collection, net of refunds, increased by 16.78 per cent to Rs 13.73 lakh crore, stated the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The growth in direct tax mop-up, which comprises personal income tax and corporate taxes, was driven by PIT collections. The gross collection grew 22.58 per cent to Rs 16.68 lakh crore.

Correct Answer:  D. Bangladesh

Explanation:  India’s first-ever cross-border oil pipeline with Bangladesh is set to be launched on March 18 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. It was constructed at a cost of Rs 377.08 crore, the bilateral project has been financed by a grant in aid of Rs 285.24 crore by India and Rs 91.84 crore by NRL. The 130-km-long Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) pipeline is part of several bilateral measures to allow Bangladesh to tap into larger volumes of energy to meet its growing domestic demands. It would carry high speed diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam. The pipeline would carry fuel from NRL’s marketing terminal in Siliguri, West Bengal to the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation’s (BPC) oil depot in Parbatipur city in Dinajpur District of the neighboring country.

Correct Answer:  D. Prithviraj Tondaiman

Explanation:  Prithviraj Tondiman of India won the bronze medal at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup 2023 on March 2023 in Doha, Qatar. Two-time world championOguzhan Tuzun of Turkey won gold with a score of 33/35, while Great Britain’s Matthew John took silver with a score of 30/35. This was India’s first medal at the ISSF World Cup, which is currently taking place.

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) governs the Olympic shooting disciplines of rifle, pistol, and shotgun. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the ISSF barred Russian and Belarussian athletes and officials from participating in its events.

• Headquarters – Munich, Germany
• Chairman –Vladimir Lisin
• Founded – 1907
• General Secretary – Willie Grill

Correct Answer:  D. iBrowsejobs Technologies Private Limited

Explanation:  India, 13th iBrowsejobs Technologies Private Limited won the most prestigious Industry Leaders Awards 2022 for the “Most Trusted IT Consulting Company in India”. Dr. Krish Bhargav, the founder of this company, received the award from the evergreen Bollywood celebrity, Sonali Bendre. iBrowsejobs is a revolutionary “train and deploy” firm that specializes in leading technologies such as Python, Data Science, and Salesforce. Their unique selling point lies in their ability to convert anyone into a deployable engineer in just 90 days! Yes, you read that right! They have successfully converted delivery boys, gardeners, college professors and even returning mothers with no technical background into high-paid engineers.

Correct Answer:  B. Brendan Fraser

Explanation:  Brendan Fraser, one of the most profound celebrities of the ’90s and early 2000s has procured the title of Best Actor at the 95th Oscar Awards for his remarkable performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. RRR’s Naatu Naatu has created history by winning the prestigious 95th Academy Awards 2023 in the Best Original song category. While India’s The Elephant Whisperers (directed by Kartiki Gonsalves) won the award for Best Documentary Short Subject. Oscars Awards 2023 full winner list is given below.

Correct Answer:  B. P. Jyothimani

Explanation:  Supreme Court Judge Justice V. Ramasubramanian has released a book titled India’s Struggle for Independence – Gandhian Era. The book, authored by P. Jyothimani, former Judge, Madras High Court, and G. Balan, former professor of history, Pachiayappa’s College, and published by Vanathi Pathipagam, was released at an event held at the University of Madras. The book covers aspects such as the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi as of the date.

Justice R. Mahadevan, Judge, Madras High Court, received the first copy. Justice R. Mahadevan, spoke about the hardships undergone by Gandhi in perseverance of social and economic justice, equality among the people, eradication of poverty and ignorance and ultimately securing Independence through ahimsa and non-violence.

Correct Answer:  D. Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi

Explanation:  Vyas Samman 2022: Pagalkhana, a 2018 satirical novel by renowned Hindi author Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi, has been chosen for the 32nd Vyas Samman. Dr. Chaturvedi’s Pagalkhana (mental hospital) was chosen for the prestigious Vyas Samman by a selection committee led by distinguished author Prof. Ramji Tiwari. The KK Birla Foundation founded the annual Vyas Samman in 1991, which is awarded to a superb piece of Hindi literature authored by an Indian citizen and published within the previous ten years. A 4 lakh rupee award is offered. The KK Birla Foundation established the Saraswati Samman, the Bihari Puraskar, and the Vyas Samman in addition to these awards. The Saraswati Samman, worth Rs. 15 lakh, is awarded to an outstanding literary work written by an Indian citizen in one of the languages listed in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution, and published within a 10-year period. The Bihari Puraskar, worth Rs. 2.5 lakh, is given to Rajasthani Hindi/Rajasthani authors.

• Chaturvedi, who was born on August 2, 1952, in the Jhansi region of Uttar Pradesh, is a well-known authority on cardiovascular illness in Madhya Pradesh. After more than 30 years of service, he just announced his retirement as the hospital’s director.
• In 2015, Dr. Chaturvedi was given the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour. In addition to the Delhi Academy Award and the Indu Sharma International Katha Samman, he has also received the Madhya Pradesh government’s Sharad Joshi Samman for excellent achievement in the fields of satire and essay.
• The 71-year-old has so far released thousands of satirical works. His debut book, Narak-Yatra (journey to hell), which was based on the medical science education system in India, was an instant success with Hindi readers.

Correct Answer:  B. India

Explanation:  Despite a fall in overall imports by India, India remained the biggest arms importer between 2018-22 with an 11% share in total global arms imports. According to the Swedish Think Tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India’s arms imports dropped by 11% between 2013–17 and 2018–22. Russia remained the largest arms supplier to India from 2013 to 2022. Russia’s share in Indian arms imports has declined from 64% to 45%. France remained the second largest arms supplier to India between 2018-22. India’s arms import from France includes 62 combat aircraft and four submarines. According to the latest SIPRI data, India is the biggest arms export market for Russia, France and Israel.

• India is the second-largest export market for South Korea while it is third largest export market for South Africa.
• India’s tensions with Pakistan and China is the main cause for arms imports.
• India’s arms import has decreased due to several factors including India’s slow and complex arms procurement process, efforts to diversify its arms suppliers and to produce arms domestically.
• Between 2018–22, Russia’s arms export to China and Egypt increased by 39% and 44% respectively.
• Between 2013–17 and 2018–22, arms imports by Pakistan increased by 14%.
• The global level of international arms transfers has decreased by 5.1%.
• Import of major arms by European countries has increased by 47% between 2013–17 and 2018–22.
• The U.S. share of global arms exports has increased from 33% to 40%.

Correct Answer:  B. Rs 934 crore

Explanation:  In a further boost to achieve ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat‘, the Ministry of Defense on March 13, 2023, signed a contract for General Refit of Sindhukirti Submarine at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam at a total cost of Rs 934 crore. Sindhukirti is the third Kilo-class Diesel Electric Submarine. The project involves over 20 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and will generate employment of 1,000 man-days per day for the project duration.

INS Sindhukirti Submarine

• It is a diesel-electric submarine.
• It was commissioned on June 7, 1990 and since then has been serving the nation in various capacities.
• It has a displacement of 1860 tonnes when submerged and is 67.5 metres in length.
• The submarine has a maximum speed of 20 knots (about 37 km per hour) when submerged and can dive to a depth of 300 metres.
• It is armed with six 533 mm torpedo tubes and can carry up to 18 torpedoes or missiles.

About Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL)

• The shipyard ‘Hindustan Shipyard Limited‘ is located in Visakhapatnam.
• It is the country’s first shipbuilding yard.
• Establishment – 21 June 1941
• Construction – Walchand Hirachand